Peer Educators at Work
Mobile outreach is critical to get information to young people. Icon Ray works as a peer educator providing SRHR information to his community. When he goes out into communities to provide peer education, he often brings boxes of youth-friendly information, education and communication (IEC) materials and free condoms.
“I do mobile outreach weekly for RHU and there are lots of young people who want information but do not go out to find it.” Icon Ray recognises that peer education is essential in supporting better access for young people to SRHR services. Thanks to Icon Ray, young people know that they can get the services they need at their nearest RHU clinic.
We wanted to find a digital solution to lighten the material load mobile outreach providers like Icon Ray carry with them when providing mobile outreach services.
Peer educators and outreach workers retrieve the charged tablets and power banks from their nearest clinic. Users can set out with a light, robust and user-friendly solar tablet carried in a backpack to provide outreach services in hard-to-reach communities. When returned, the solar tablets are charged through a docking station powered by the clinic’s solar panels.
Our user-driven pilot confirmed that our solar tablets are practical and acceptable mHealth solution to enhance the delivery of mobile outreach services for peer educators and VHTs. Our pilot achieved the following results:
4 prototypes were tested as part of routine mobile outreach services over 300 working days.
95% of outreach providers agreed that the tablets complemented their work.
Our tablets were used to deliver SRHR information to over
2,000 people
Our case study Solar Tablets for Mobile Outreach provides an overview of our Proof of Concept in developing a user-driven design of a Solar Tablet to digitise IEC materials to complement outreach services.
Feedback and findings from the pilot are being evaluated as we consider how to continuously improve the quality of our service, and next steps we will need to take towards scaling-up use in mobile outreach.
Photo Credit:
Banner Image: SafeHands | Fortuante Kagumaho | Uganda | 2020
Icon Ray Portrait: SafeHands | Paige Rogers | Ugand | 2020